Mikel Arteta told £52m Man Utd star would ‘shine’ at Arsenal: ‘Top player’ | Football

Bacary Sagna believes that Leny Yoro would be ‘shining’ at Arsenal had he opted to join Mikel Arteta’s side over Manchester United.

United swooped ahead of Real Madrid to sign Yoro from Lille in 2024, the centre-back joining for a £52million fee having made just 60 appearances for the French club.

Yoro was seen as one of Europe’s most highly-rated young defenders when he made the move to United, but has struggled at points during his early years at Old Trafford.

The Frenchman has started just seven matches in all competitions since Michael Carrick’s arrival, with Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire still firmly ahead of him in the pecking order.

And while still early in his career, former Arsenal and Manchester City defender Sagna believes the 20-year-old has not been helped by the topsy-turvy environment at United.

‘He is another top player but he came to a sick team,’ Sagna told Action Network. ‘When he joined, the team was sick.

‘So yes I would love to see him perform well when everyone else is doing well but they started badly.

‘You know when the team is not in form, to shine individually is more difficult. It’s not impossible because Bruno Fernandes proved it.

‘But if the whole team is struggling and the team is sick, then there’s a higher chance you get sick too and in trouble.

‘You’re going to have times over the course of the season where it’s going to be tougher for you because you’re going to get exposed as a defender.’

Instead, Sagna couldn’t help but wonder what Yoro’s development would have looked like had he joined Arsenal, who have developed the league’s best defence in recent years under his former teammate Arteta.

‘He’s a nice prospect, an amazing player,’ Sagna added.

‘If he came to Arsenal and Arsenal were shining, he would probably have been shining too.

‘So it’s not only about the quality of the player, it’s also about how the team is performing at that time. I think hopefully United as a team will bounce back and Yoro will have a good season because he’s a top player.’

Yoro made his first start of the season in the Champions League against Sabah, but has also been used as a back-up option at right-back.

However, that is not a role that former Red Devils defender Gary Neville wants to see Yoro in any more, saying on The Overlap: ‘I don’t think he understands right-back, which is fine, a lot of centre-backs don’t.

‘But we’ve got to stop bringing him on there and thinking he’s a right-back.

‘My feeling is Michael Carrick maybe sees him as a more defensive right-back option, similar to what Liverpool did with Ronald Araujo given their issues at right-back.’

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